Growing up in a family that highly valued camping, fishing and all things outdoors, it has become a very cherished past time of mine. I've graduated to camping without my parents, bring my own fishing gear and have accumulated a large assortment of camping gear over the years. However, I live in the city. What if you'd like to experience the great outdoors but live in the city? What do you do if you don't have a license or don't have access to a car? In comes Parkbus.
Word of warning: this post is not sponsored by Parkbus, this is a genuine review by me: a person who's used their services before and would like to recommend them to any outdoors enthusiasts who don't have a car, require a ride out of the city and likewise want to reduce their carbon footprint. If so, read on!
Parkbus is a bus service that shuttles outdoor enthusiasts from major cities to parks across the country. Get creative and light with your packing and you can be hiking, camping, fishing and living in the outdoors this very weekend!
They have a variety of destinations and are seemingly adding more and more every year. They also provide day trips and some guided tours to some locations if a day is all you have (and sometimes a day is all you need!). See their schedule here! (PSST look out for their promotional free shuttles throughout the year!)
For campers: once you find a route that suites your camping needs, check out OntarioParks to book a campsite for your group - here you can find rates and details such as amenities, maps and alerts for each park. This is great for creating a small itinerary and deciding what needs to be packed and what can stay home (I'll be doing a packing list for both backpackers and traditional campers soon - stay tuned!). Check them out by clicking on the photo below. Vice versa if you don't know where to go, OntarioParks can be the first place to explore and do a little research before booking a bus.
For those of you who love the outdoors and have gone in a car before, you know how much of a hassle the outbound traffic can be - Parkbus helps the environment through minimizing carbon footprint of individual cars and also helps all commuters better understand how to be responsible when camping and hiking!
When you sign up for a bus ride through their site, Parkbus also sends you pre-departure reminders, packing tips and relevant trip guides on how to camp and leave no traces - this is extremely important as keeping our environment and wild spaces clean ensures longevity of the area, the animals, and maintains the integrity of the sites for future generations.
In addition to shuttles, Parkbus partners with MEC (Mountain Equipment Co. which is a sporting and outdoors equipment store), in providing deeply discounted equipment rentals! How great is that?
Fortunately I have a car - however when I ask someone why they aren't able to come camping as often as I do, the resounding response is the lack of a car. This is why I believe in Parkbus, have used it before with my father (Mr. Fishing himself) and truly admire their efforts in connecting Canadians to the vast expense of nature sitting just outside our crowded cities waiting to be discovered, seen and heard.
Hats off to the guys that started this fantastic service and continue to grow on an annual basis. My hope is that everyone in this country gets to witness and experience camping at least once a year - the bonding to nature and freedom that comes with being outdoors cannot be mimicked with an air plant or a succulent in your office!
Do you feel the same? Have you used Parkbus before? Do you have a cool camping story? Tell me about it in the comments below - I'd be grateful to hear your adventures while I wait for my next one to start!
Cheers and happy camping!
Linda Kamaev